The Voice Within
by Phantom of the Asylum
Summary: An origin about Johnny 13 and Kitty. Loosely based on Disturbed's "Voices." Johnny awakens from a nightmare and realizes there was more to it than mere bad dreams. His luck goes horribly bad and death ensues.
1. The Dream

I was going through some songs and didn't listen to this one in a while: "Voices" by Disturbed. When I began to think about it, I couldn't help but think of an origin of Johnny 13 and Kitty relating to it. This is my 1st fanfic, so I'll try to keep it simple and easy to understand. Setting: May 1984 in Amity Park.

Wake up, are you alive  
>Will you listen to me<p>

Johnny Reynolds was awoken suddenly in the morning by a nightmare. He couldn't recall details but it was some dark force telling him to…to…. "Damn. Wish I could remember what that thing was telling me," Johnny muttered to himself. He looked next to him, his girlfriend of nearly a full year was lying asleep. Johnny's dream didn't wake her it seemed.

He looked over at the clock…7:24. Figuring it was about time to get up for work, he sat up in bed and started to get up.

"Mmmm….why are you up so early Johnny?" Kitty asked, still groggy.

"Bad dream woke me up. Figured I'd get ready for work. Just lay back down. I'll be back around five."

"Alright. Love ya," Kitty said before dozing back off.

Leaving the apartment and heading for the curb, Johnny felt sensed a presence around him. He felt like someone, or something, was stalking him. He turned around and no one was there. He dismissed it as just some kids sneaking around. "Little punks…" Johnny muttered under his breath before starting his bike.

Alright, short? Yeah. But I know where I'm going with this so updates will be frequent.


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for the review BlondeEagle, "Voices" is one of my favorite Disturbed songs. Who knows, maybe I'll think of another songfic to write (looking at "Inside the Fire" with Ember possibly).

Onto the story!

I'm gonna talk about some freaky shit now  
>Someone is gonna die<br>When you listen to me  
>Let the living die, Let the living die<p>

Johnny dismissed the presence he felt as just some kids. Still a bit early for work he decided to take a longer route to work. Hopping onto the highway he decided to get in a little bit of speeding in, the cops didn't start patrolling until the area until about 9am.

Johnny was turning off the highway onto a smaller street when he could've sworn he heard a small voice in his head. He couldn't make out any words. He looked around quickly, there was only a red Corvette about 20 feet behind him so it couldn't have been someone signaling him to stop. Moving over to the left lane he realized he couldn't beat the red light. The Corvette took the right lane trailing shortly behind Johnny.

The two came to a stop when Johnny looked over at the other driver. The Corvette was a convertible and he must have figured it was nice enough to cruise with the top down. It was some guy who looked to be about in his mid-40s. He looked a bit short, and had some large, clunky box in the front seat with him. In fact, he almost looked like he was on his way to work at some shipping company.

'Who would put a big box in a car like that?' Johnny thought.

The stranger looked over and revved his engine. The voice suddenly returned, this time much more audible then before. It was almost like a screeching, hissing sound.

"You know he wants to race…take him down a peg. Show him that only real men can drive a car like that," the voice spoke to him.

This voice seemed to read his mind completely. A guy like that, acting so smug, in a car like that? He needed to be taught a lesson.

Johnny, not thinking clearly, figured why not. Maybe it would get this voice out his head. The street was a nice long straightaway and there wasn't a car to be seen. Plus the recent upgrades to his bike for some extra horsepower and a bit of style. A new grey matte paint job with a neon green "13" written on the gas tank to give it a true racer look. Kitty picked it, thinking that it would intimidate the "wannabe" racers and bikers.

A quick rev of the bike's engine and the light turned green. Tires squealed and smoke floated everywhere. The Corvette was fast, but the motorcycle was faster. Ten seconds into the race Johnny was leading by about 20 feet, and had he looked back he would've seen the dark figure of his shadow lift off of the pavement behind him. The convertible's driver was shocked beyond belief. He never saw something like that before.

It was nearly 7 feet tall in its current state, with piercing green eyes and a twistedly evil smile of razor sharp teeth. It looked nearly human in general, but the body seemed to be edged in a jagged formation, as is it was ripped from cloth. Its arms were huge, with dagger-like fingers. It looked to be an embodiment of evil, something not from this world.

"Woah, what the hell is that th-"

He was cut off as this monster lunged as his car, shredding the right front fender and sending the car and driver into a telephone pole at a speed of nearly 130 mph. The shadow quickly caught up to Johnny and reformed into his shape. Johnny finally slowed down realizing he won the impromptu race, but was horrified with the scene behind him.

The car was now about half of its original length, completely crumped by the impact. The driver was injured badly and unconscious. It was then that the pole just snapped where the driver hit it, landing directly on top of him. Death was instantaneous.

Johnny knew that if the police found out all the details, he could be brought up on possible murder charges, reckless endangerment, speeding, and probably a half dozen other bizarre charges. He wasn't afraid of losing his license, it's jail that worried him. He wouldn't go to jail just because of some freakish accident. No one would have to ever even figure it out. They'd think some pompous jackass went out for a joyride, lost control of his car, and crashed into a pole. Kitty wouldn't even have to find out.

'I didn't kill him after all, he was the driver of his car…he wanted to race…" Johnny thought to himself as he motored on to work. But one thought plagued his mind, that voice…it wanted him to race. It wasn't his conscious, that's what was speaking to him now trying to understand what happened. Was he going crazy?

'That dream, something was getting me to do something. Why can I not remember what that was though? It's like something's blocking my memory. And for that matter, what was the thing in my dream?' Johnny's thoughts were racing by this point. Perhaps his dream was a forewarning of the events happening today. But he couldn't dwell on this mind, he needed to get to work.

His shadow seemed quite contempt with the kill. It went all according to plan…

And this completes chapter 2 (yes I'm actually going on further with it, a two shot was planned originally). What's on Shadow's mind? Why did it choose Johnny? Check back for Chapter 3.

Read and review guys.


	3. Chapter 3

Alright guys, another chapter. Oddly enough I was channel surfing and found "13" on a few days ago, so that gave me a few ideas for the next chapter. And I really shouldn't write chapters at 3am...if anyone didn't get it, Shadow slashed the fender and tire. That caused the driver to lose control.

What's up? I wonder why?  
>Do you listen to me?<br>I'm gonna make you do some freaky shit now

Let the living die, let the living die

Still mildly shaken from the highway horror earlier today, Johnny continued to work. A bit uneasy if anyone saw him, he took a few more backroads to lose anyone tailing him. Ten minutes late, he arrived at "Heavy Metal Customs," a garage for anyone looking to make their car or bike something truly remarkable. Johnny, as a worker, was able to get a good deal on some parts that really helped him today.

"You're late Johnny." The very words spoken by his boss, Damon Gray, seemed to pierce his mind.

Damon Gray was only about 25 (roughly five years older then Johnny), but had owned the garage for nearly four years. His career choice was to be an owner, something where he could take charge.

"By only ten minutes." Johnny replied.

"Johnny, I really don't care. Two other guys called off today and we have three bikes to inspect, one in need of new brakes as it is, a caddy that needs a new stereo, an el camino that needs hydraulics, and a Gran Torino to detail, and some limo that needs an entirely new interior. All of that needs done while we're shorthanded, TODAY!"

"Nik coming in today? Stereos and electronics, not my thing. Dig it?"

"Yeah. Amber will be as well. Why?"

"Get them on the caddy, camino and limo whenever they come in."

"Alright, just get to work!" Damon replied.

'Jackass...I'll detail the Torino so it has time to dry, replace that bikes brakes, inspect the others, and then help finish the limo if there's time' Johnny thought to himself.

As he was finishing the Torino he could've sworn he heard a growling, then a dark figure moved suddenly behind him. Turning around quickly all he saw was his shadow.

'Johnny you're losing it dude. Just chill out already. Nothing's there...' Johnny thought to himself.

Nikolai Technus, or 'Nik' as they called him, came in at noon. Tall and skinny in his mid 40's, with sunglasses that he never seemed to take off. H was followed by a younger girl, she looked about 19 or 20 with chestnut hair in a pony tail.

"Fear not, for it is I, Nik, the master of technology and circuitry, wizard of elect-"

"Shut it Nik, you've been here for only 12 seconds and I'm already irritated as it is." Damon said, completely annoyed of Nik's continuos ranting intros already. Odds are he would have fired him already had it not been the fact he was an expert at electronics.

"What's the big problem today?" Amber said casually.

Amber McLain seemed out of place, but fresh out of high school she needed a job and her father was a retired mechanic. So he mentored her in cars and engines. She had aspiring dreams to become a musician. But after her drummer/boyfriend left her broken hearted for some stuck up Latina chick, she drifted away from that dream for the time being. Her father talked to the owner and convinced him to hire her.

"The problem is I had one mechanic all day doing the work because the others called in sick today. Now get to work."

"Hey Johnny fill us in on what's done." Amber asked.

"I finished the bikes, Torino, and started on the camino. Amber, you help me out. Nik take care of the caddy. Then we'll finish the limo since it's a complete disaster."

"Ah yes, fresh electronics! Let's get started!" Nik was always a bit over enthusiastic when he got to work his "wizardry" with electronics. Amber just saw it as another task.

The time seemed to fly by, and Johnny's shift was almost over. The hydraulics were done, the stereo was installed but the limo was still a wreck. A party was held in the back, when someone dropped a cigarette butt into a spilled bottle of vodka and the interior caught on fire. Externally the car looked fine and was structurally good, so spending about $2,000 to get it back up and ready for rentals seemed fine with the owner.

A few modifications were ordered with this time: some subwoofers and strobe lights to really get the party going. Nik got to work rewiring the lights, as Amber had to get the seats installed.

"Johnny, go check the battery. These lights will not work!"

"Or are they fine and you're just getting a bit too old, pops. Hehe." Johnny replied.

Nik glared angrily and said, "Just check the battery."

Johnny tried to start the car. Nothing.

"Battery's dead, won't even throw over. Think you can take over from here pops?" Johnny said, annoyed at possibly another thing to do now. He wanted to just get out for the day. The voice came back throughout the day, mostly indiscernible language. But just after Johnny's last statement he could've sworn he heard it...laughing? 'The sooner I get out of here, the better,' he thought while going in the back to his locker.

"Stop calling me pops! And yes I can, child." Nik, getting a bit pissed at Johnny for wanting to leave already, got some jumper cables and hastily attached them to a generator. He heard some crackling and went to go check out what was happening under the hood.

Nik was great with technology, but not with common sense. The car battery exploded, severely burning his face with acid and caused pieces of the casing to be lodged into his skull. He was dead within seconds.

This was loud enough to get Damon out of his office and see what was going on.

"What happened?" he yelled, both angry and concerned.

Amber was working on the new carpet in the back of the limo when the explosion occurred. She emerged from the car looking completely stunned.

Johnny heard the explosion as well and the three ran to see what happened to Nik. A quick check for a pulse proved that he was dead.

"Amber, call 911 now!" Damon yelled. She nodded and ran to the phone.

"911, what's your emergency?"

"A car battery exploded into one of my co-workers faces, he doesn't have a pulse. We need an ambulance here now! We're at Heavy Metal Customs garage on Locust Street in Amity Park." Amber said, panicking all the while.

"I'm sending one out there right now. Was anyone else injured?"

"No. Only him."

"Alright. The ambulance is on the way."

"Thank you."

Amber returned to the gruesome scene, the acid started eating away the skin on his face now and the sunglasses didn't shield his eyes at all. The ambulance arrived ten minutes later. Nik was pronounced dead at the scene and was taken to the morgue.

"You two can just go now." Damon's face was in complete disbelief as he locked the garage up.

Had Johnny not been in the back of the shop, Amber not been inside the car, and Nik been a little less irritated at Johnny, they would've seen the dark figure leap from the ground behind Johnny into the air, pass through the battery, and make a hasty retreat to back to it's host.

"Hey Johnny, can I hang out with you and Kitty tonight?"

"Sure Amber, hop on." Kitty was always glad to see Amber, they were great friends through high school and her working together with Johnny ensured they wouldn't lose touch with one another. As the two drove off Shadow reformed trailing behind them on the ground, grinning once again.

The whole "incident" was enough to make Damon reconsider his occupation. A week later Heavy Metal Customs closed up shop and Damon was signed up for criminal justice classes. He would later become the night watchman for Axion Labs.

End Chapter 3

Yes, I'm incorporating a few other origins as well. It was a bit of a last minute choice, but i think it works. The next two chapters are going to get really interesting (then that's all there is). Check back, and leave a review if you like the story.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 guys. This had some inspirations from "13". College is back in so it took some time arranging to get this chapter done. 1 left now. Aight let's get this started. Last set of lyrics...

_Insane, you're gonna die_

_When you listen to me_

_Let the living die, let the living die_

_I can hear the voice but I don't want to listen_

_Strap me down and tell me I'll be alright_

_I can feel the subliminal need to be one with the voice_

_And make everything alright_

-Chapter 4-

Johnny and Amber headed off to his apartment, both still completely unknowing of the evil trailing Johnny. After the ten minute drive back, the two entered the building to find the elevator out of order.

"Crud..." Johnny muttered.

A ten story stair climb...great way to start relaxing after one crazy day.

Johnny wasn't exactly in peak physical condition, so after the fourth set of stairs he was starting to feel a bit winded.

"This...sucks..." Johnny gasped.

"Keep going dipstick, the sooner we get to your apartment the sooner you can rest," Amber said.

It took them about five minutes, but they made it. Kitty was happy to see the two, still unaware of the tragedies of today.

"Hey Johnny, hey Amber. How was work today?" she asked.

"Horrible. Nik died." Johnny said.

"Nik...he was that guy obsessed with the latest technology right?" Kitty said.

"Yeah. He was a bit obnoxious and annoying, but he wasn't a complete ass," Amber said.

"So what happened exactly?"

"I was getting ready to leave and Amber was working on some part of this car's interior. Anyway the battery was dead so Nik charged it up. Must've been faulty since it exploded in his face."

"Well at least your ok Johnny. I made us some pasta, there's plenty for you too Amber. I know how much you like Italian foods."

"Aw thanks Kitty. You still know my favorite foods even after graduation. You're a great friend."

"Anytime Amber, I'll go get some plates. So is the shop closing now?"

"No idea Kitty, Damian just looked kinda shaken up. So we might be out of work."

"That's gonna suck. All I know is music and guitars...jobs around here in either field isn't exactly easy to come by.

"Hey I gotta use the bathroom. Would've at work but the whole accident thing took my mind away from that." Johnny said and proceeded to the bathroom.

Johnny closed the door and looked in the mirror. He saw his reflection. Big mistake...His reflection suddenly changed right in front of him. Instead of the usual blonde haired 22 year old he always saw, a dark figure appeared with glowing green eyes and sharp fanged teeth.

'Yes that's me,' the voice said to Johnny.

"Who are you and what do you want?"

'All will be revealed in time,' and with that telepathic statement Shadow disappeared and was replaced by Johnny's reflection.

Saying he was freaked out was an understatement. He just saw what might be causing all this misfortune to happen to him. He figured maybe Kitty should know, maybe this was his conscious.

He went out to the small kitchen. Kitty was at the stove warming up the pasta, Amber was setting a few plates on the table. He sat down, followed by Amber, then Kitty with the pot of pasta.

"Kitty this smells awesome. Thanks for letting me eat here tonight," Amber said.

"Amber your like a sister to me, you're always welcome to come here," Kitty said.

After one great meal the three crashed on the couch to watch some MTV and check out the latest music videos.

It was about six when Kitty had an idea.

"Hey do you guys want to make some popcorn? I think we still have some of that one you cook on the stove," Kitty suggested. The three weren't always together and it might help them relax a bit more.

"Sure I'll go make it," Amber said.

The phone rang a few seconds later. Johnny went to get it.

"Hello?"

"Johnny, it's Damian. I'm closing down the garage next week. Come by someday this week to clean out your locker."

"What? Why?" Kitty overheard the questions in Johnny's concerned voice and went to see what was happening.

"The police are still unsure how the explosion happened and now there are rumors we're running a chop shop. I'm not sure how we can rebound. So I decided to close the garage."

Johnny was speechless. Out of a job? He couldn't talk his boss into keeping the garage open, rumors like that were sure to trigger investigations and that meant fewer customers.

"Alright. I'll be by tomorrow." Johnny said and hung up the phone.

"Who was that?" Kitty asked.

"Gray. Shop's closed. I'm unemployed. This sucks."

"Aw Johnny come here. We'll make it through this somehow," Kitty said and embraced Johnny in a hug.

"I hope so Kitten, I really do."

-MEANWHILE-

Amber was setting the popcorn up. It always took a few minutes...and it was soooo boring. But she noticed a magazine with an article featuring KISS inside. She couldn't resist seeing what it was about. So she set the popcorn down on the stove, turned the burner on, picked up the magazine, and went to rest against the small closet door in the kitchen.

As soon as the magazine had her interest drawn, Shadow slide into the kitchen and reformed right in front of the burner. He quickly blew out the small fire and went back to his host.

Amber wondered why the popcorn was taking so long...the fire went out.

"Ughhhh..." Amber groaned and remembered Kitty kept some matches in the closet in case the power went out and they needed a quick light. She took one out and struck it, then proceeded to the stove front forgetting the kitchen was filling with gas.

Johnny and Kitty's hug ended. Johnny thought he heard a small chuckle...the last time something like that happened Nik died. They were about to return to the living room when an explosion shook the building.

"Amber!" Kitty and Johnny yelled in unison, hoping their friend was ok. They were too late. The force of the gas explosion caused Amber to hit the wall, break her neck, covered her in flaming shrapnel, and left her on the floor dead. Johnny tried to get to her but within seconds the kitchen was completely engulfed in flames. Kitty yelled for Johnny to come back, she couldn't lose two friends in one day.

The fire spread throughout the apartments above and below their's, which led to the apartment of Johnny and Kitty becoming engulfed in flames.

They rushed down the stairs of the building and to Johnny's motorcycle. They would have waited around for the fire department, but all their possessions were gone except the motorcycle. If the building were to collapse, they would be left with nothing and maybe even die in the process

About four miles of traveling and Johnny stopped at a small gas station. He thought maybe it was time to tell Kitty about the voice. He noticed she was still crying for the loss of Amber, so he tried his best to comfort her. The two sat on the bike for quite a while until they were both silent. Then he broke the silence.

"Kitty, I need to tell you something. You remember earlier how I woke up early with that nightmare? Well today...it's just...I think I'm going crazy now."

"What do you mean Johnny?"

He sighed and said, "I..I think something is...I really don't know how to say it so...screw it. I think something possessed me last night. Everywhere I go today someone dies. On the way to work I raced someone and they crashed. I didn't even stop to see if they were still alive. Then a telephone poll smashed the driver's side down. They were dead. Then I got to work where Nik died. Then I got home with Amber and she died. I'm afraid I will be the death of you. I can't live without you Kitty. You are my world. I know I'm not an ideal boyfriend. My attention can get hooked onto a passing girl, and you get angry. You can get completely pissed. But you still love me...we were destined to be together. Now this voice that has been plaguing my head is driving me insane. I have no idea what will happen, but I love you Kitten. I always did and always will."

She looked at him, with confusion and love. A voice? A death earlier in the morning? Him being the death of her?

"Johnny in all honesty I'm not sure what you're talking about really. But I love you. We'll find a way to get through this."

As she finished a tractor trailer came barreling down the street and was headed for the couple. Johnny pulled Kitty away just as the truck smashed through the convenience store behind the gas station, triggering an explosion that blasted Johnny and Kitty through the air and onto the ground. They were both knocked unconscious.

Johnny awoke shortly afterwards and tried to stand upright, his leg was definitely injured. The explosion took it's toll on him. He knew his bike was thrashed. The truck smashed into it and took it right into the storefront. He scanned the area quickly to see if he could make sense of things when suddenly a form twenty feet from him caught his attention. It was Kitty.

"Kitty!" Johnny yelled and tried running to her side. Feeling for a pulse...nothing. She was gone.

He noticed her jacket was severely burned, as were some parts of her body. When she was knocked unconscious, her clothes caught fire by a few stray embers.

"Kitty...no...why..." Johnny said collapsing to his knees. He felt alone. A complete feeling of worthlessness and guilt swept over him. This was his fault. In retrospect...all of the deaths were his fault. Then the voice returned...

'Do it. Things will be better on the other side'

"What are you...oh..." Johnny said out loud. With nothing to lose why fight being labeled insane? But he knew what Shadow meant.

He felt the inner side pocket of his overcoat, the gun Kitty gave him a few months back was still in there. When Johnny said he'd be doing a few late shifts, Kitty worried about Johnny getting robbed or anything else that might happen since he traveled alone. She got him a .45 and made a special pocket in his jacket for it. She knew Johnny wouldn't use the gun for anything other then self defense.

He reached into the pocket and pulled it out. It was still loaded. His thoughts were racing now. Less than 24 hours ago he was perfectly happy with his girlfriend, with his life in general. Now everything was taken from him. No friends, no job, no motorcycle, no Kitty, nothing. He only had an image of Kitty in his head as he pointed the gun into his right temple and pulled the trigger.

As soon as he heard the firing of the bullet, a coldness swept over him...then nothing.

-End Chapter 4-

Thanks for reading guys, stay tuned for the last chapter.

Now I know what you're thinking, where's the "13" references? I went off of Kitty in the beginning saying about how Johnny fried her body. Might be out of context, Might be a subtle hint from BH how Kitty died. It's referenced multiple times in the series the ghosts were once living creatures, question is how did they die?


	5. Chapter 5

The last chapter. Thanks for the input, watches, and views. Never wrote a fanfic before so at least some interest was drawn. Hope you all read my next fic. I might do something with Jazz and Spectra. We'll see.

-Chapter 5-

Johnny awoke to feeling a hard rocky surface under him. He first thought he somehow survived a direct gunshot suicide completely unharmed. That is, until he noticed the floating purple doors, green swirling skies, and rocks that appeared to be weightless. Then something else caught his eye...Shadow. Finally a true face to face confrontation.

"You...you caused all of my misery. What are you? Why me?" Johnny asked.

The being didn't speak, instead it used it's telepathic communication again.

'For starters, call me Shadow. As for why you, I needed a host and you were someone I sensed wouldn't take much to end it all. You see, I'm a shadow ghost. I'm also an entity of evil. I was formed only to create chaos. But there was a catch to my creation, I can only thrive if attached to someone. My last host was imprisoned in the jail around here, and we were forcibly separated. I gathered all my strength and made a break for the real world. But now you're dead. Which means you and I can become one.'

"Wait, what about the communicating you did, and anything else you did around me? Weren't we one then?"

'No. I fed off your energy. Your humanity kept us apart. I was connected with your spirit.'

"So how did you connect to me without me noticing?"

'Remember that nightmare you had and couldn't recall what it was about? That was me entering your mind.'

"And how are things better? I'm dead and still alone, the motorcycle's still destroyed, Kitty's gone, my friends are dead, and now I have an evil shadow. How the hell is this better?"

'Well, now you have me as a loyal servant at your every beck and call. Next Amber and Nik are here, they'll look different and maybe refer to themselves differently but their personalities will be pretty much the same. And Kitty isn't far away, and your motorcycle is right behind you.'

Johnny spun around quickly and noticed the same bike behind him as he had in real life...only it was entirely repaired.

'Humans who have a strong connection to something in their real life, might have it brought over to this dimension. Take Amber for example. She said she gave up on music, but every night for hours on end she'd play her guitar in hopes that she'd make it big someday. Her guitar was brought over with her.'

"I can understand why I'm here, but why are Kitty, Amber, and Nik here too?"

'All deals with how they died. Not the accident itself, but the cause of it. You'll understand later.'

"Alright, I can dig that for the time being. Now let's find Kitty. Shadow, return." And with that, Shadow reformed around his new master's feet. Johnny hopped on his bike and took off to find Kitty.

Shortly after departing he came across some short, overweight ghost in shipping clothes.

'That guy looks kinda familiar...wait wasn't that the guy I raced yesterday?' Johnny thought to himself. And sure enough his thoughts were right on the money. Johnny, still feeling a bit ashamed for his choice to race didn't say anything and instead just kept driving.

An hour of searching and Johnny finally saw someone else, it was a tall guy in a lab coat. He looked familiar...but the completely white hair threw Johnny off though. Nik maybe?

"Nik?" Johnny asked the stranger.

"No, I am Technus now young whipper snapper! Master of all things wired and circuited, genius of-Johnny? What are you doing around here?"

"Yeah it's me. I skip the details and say a few things went wrong. Amber and Kitty died, and I ended up committing suicide. So where are we?"

"This is the Ghost Zone. Basically if you died before you were intended to, most likely by some supernatural force, you end up here. I myself had numerous questions as to what was supernatural about my death, which were answered by some guy rapidly aging in a purple cape thing...it turns out that your shadow there is an evil being who sabotaged the battery I was working on, triggering it to explode in my face."

"Oh. Uh...sorry I guess. You seen Kitty or Amber pops?"

"Kitty no, Amber yes. But she goes by Ember now. And stop calling me pops. I can be just as 'funky fresh' as any other youngster."

Johnny rolled his eyes and said, "Need to find Ember, wheres she at and why the name change?"

"Another benefit to being dead other than the superpowers and such, we can alter our look and any other aspects we want, like our name. I chose a mad scientist look and go by my last name now. Pretty clever huh. Anyway she chose her name because of her way of dying. And she isn't too far from here, just keep going up the pathway."

"Thanks. Later," and Johnny sped off. Sure enough Technus was right and Ember wasn't far away.

"Hey Ember," Johnny said to her.

"Johnny? What happened to you baby pop? And better question where's Kitty?"

"I have no idea. I just got into the Ghost Zone myself where I was confronted by this being by the name of Shadow who might have been the cause of your death," Johnny replied.

"Yeah I know. Some guy by the name of Clockwork cleared it up."

"Aging dude with a purple cape?"

"I'd say cloak. But yeah that was him."

"Why is everyone meeting him but me?"

"Cuz you're the guy who had a shadow ghost possessing him for the past 24 hours."

"Hmmm. Anyway what's with the new look?"

"Always wanted to be a rock star. So I modeled myself after KISS. My body was burned to a point of essentially no recognition. I was essentially a 'Jane Doe' so I'm gonna go back to the living world. Maybe make that dream a reality and get a little revenge on my ex. Dipstick...he'll regret breaking up with me..."

"Ahhhh. I can dig that. I need to find Kitty. Want to help?"

"Alright. Just keep that shadow of yours under control. If it killed me I don't trust it."

"Hop on. The sooner we find her the better."

"I'll take my guitar."

"Huh?"

"This guitar has a lot more power than my old one. Watch," Ember said and jumped onto her guitar. It appeared as though she was surfing.

"Woah. Wonder if the old bike can do anything else. I'll figure out it later. Let's go."

The two took off in search of Kitty. Hours of searching came up with nothing. They were about to give up for today when...

"Kitty!" Johnny yelled. He had been doing it all day, hoping she might have heard it. Once again, no reply. Johnny had an idea, use Shadow.

"Wait...Shadow, find Kitty," and with that, he jumped to his master's command. Mere minutes passed until Shadow returned with a terrified female form.

"Shadow, return. Kitty, I've been looking for you everywhere. Sorry about scaring you, I'll explain...remember everything I told you about before we died? Apparently it all was 'him'. He's an evil entity named Shadow. He's best at causing chaos through bad luck. Our deaths...his plan. Yeah this is starting to sound hard to believe I guess, but we're dead so anything isn't too weird I guess."

"Johnny...I'm at a loss for words right now..." Kitty said, her eyes tearing up a bit at the realization Johnny was the cause of her death. Could she forgive him?

"Kitty I meant what I said before we died, Please...be my girl for eternity."

"Oh Johnny, come here," Kitty said.

"Get a room lovebirds," Ember said.

The three friends continued their ritual of hanging out, even in the afterlife. That is, however, until a certain boy's parents created a portal that could connect the two worlds.

-End Chapter 5-

Well I hope you liked it. All in all, I had fun writing this fic. It was my first ever so perfection…yeah doubt I hit that mark but feel like it was good. Stay tuned for more stories.

-Phantom of the Asylum


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